"In the US market where activism is an accepted part of the
investing ecosystem, activists are running the same
screens and identifying the same
targets," Chris Young, head of contested
situations in the M&A group at Credit Suisse,
told Business Insider.

"They are not running into one another in a coordinated wolfpack
fashion, but by accident. You get that crowded
environment."

One recent example is Mondelez, the maker of Oreo cookies. Ackman
recently unveiled a big position in the company, joining
fellow activist Nelson Peltz. Bank of New York Mellon also
found itself squeezed by two activists in quick succession, with
Peltz's Trian and activist fund Marcato Capital Management
both agitating for change.

One solution for activists looking for a unique target:
To start looking abroad for new opportunities.

"That in turn, logic would dictate, means activists are
going to look outside that crowded market, and allocate dry
powder to other jursidictions," Young said.

The numbers show what's already
underway: In 2015 so far, activists have targeted
foreign companies 31 times — up from 17 in all of 2014 and a
record high, according to Activist Insight. The number of
international activist campaigns has risen every year from 2010
onwards, the data show.

Activist
investing overseas is up over the last five years - but it took
off in 2015.Activist
Insight

That includes a number of campaigns elsewhere in the Americas,
with activists targeting companies listed in places like
Bermuda and Canada. But it also includes a number of European
targets.

John Paulson's hedge fund has tried to
elbow Dutch drugmaker Mylan into the arms of a bidder.
Nelson Peltz started pushing UK-based Pentair to start
buying out rivals. Jeffrey Ubben's ValueAct Capital is invested
in Rolls-Royce Holding in the UK and have met with chief
executive Warren East.

“We’re seeing more and more of it,” said Ele
Klein, partner and co-chair of law firm Schulte Roth &
Zabel’s activism practice, adding that "it’s a slow
build.”

There are obvious impediments. One is the
language barrier, according to Klein. Then there are cultural
differences, and differences in shareholder structure.

Corporate behaviour also differs. In the US it isn't
uncommon to see an activist load up on a corporate target's
shares and push for a buyback. That strategy might not be as
prevalent, or as successful, in places like Europe.

"Dividend payouts are much, much higher in Europe than they are
in the US," Ben Laidler, HSBC's global equity strategist and
head of Americas research, told Business Insider.

Then there are macro-economic issues. Many
activists consider Europe to be a target-rich environment,
but the eurozone crisis stymied activist campaigns in the region.
As the region gets back on its feet, activism could pick up
there.

“I see Europe as the next place that gets
significant growth,” said activist adviser Steve Wolosky, a
partner at law firm Olshan Frome Wolosky. Olshan has worked on
more than
50 activist campaigns so far this year.

The activists will likely have to adapt their playbook: What
works in the US won't necessarily work in the UK or in Australia
or in Japan. Activists are much more likely to operate behind the
scenes outside the US, exhorting company management to change
strategy in private.

Global companies are alive to the threat, and are much more open
now to hearing about activism and its leading protagonists than
in the past, according to Young at Credit Suisse.

"Corporates in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Australia are
much more interested in getting to know more about activism and
how it may take shape in their home markets," he said.